Is Devin Hester NFL Hall of Fame worthy?

[TexasMan]

He's just about sewn up the best KR/PR of all time.

Is that enough to get him in?

Discuss.

 

[snowsurfer13sss]

Yes. He is the best ever at what he does at a single position? I know its just kick returns but we will remember his name.

 

[beardown07]

No question.

What he's done is unparalleled.

He will shatter every return record by the time he's done. What took guys like Brian Mitchell and Deion Sanders 10 to 13 years to do, Hessy's done in basically 3.

If a kicker, albeit only one, but if a kicker can get in, Hester should be automatic.

 

[Smoke]

Yes. He is the best ever at what he does at a single position? I know its just kick returns but we will remember his name.

This.^^^ And LOL @ teams who continue to kick to him.

 

[CrimsonFan]

Yeah, pretty much

 

[Smart]

Not only is he the best, but he has literally changed the way teams have drafted. How many times over the last 4 or so years have you heard, "He's a decent prospect at (Insert Position Here), but the reason he is getting drafted here is his potential in the return game". Before, teams treated the return position as a fairly unimportant one where you inserted the best suited player to return on your team. Now, kids coming out of college are being analyzed for their return ability, something which only happened in a very rare case in the Pre-Hester days. He should be a HOF Lock by the time it is all said and done.

 

[guitarmy21b]

My argument against it is that teams rarely make their best WR their KR because it makes them not as effective for the next play and increases the chance of injury. We don't really know if we've seen the best kick returners. There could have been plenty of guys who might have put up the same numbers but are too busy putting up 100 catches a season. There's also the fact that they're returning against a team's backup players. That's my problem, it's SPECIAL TEAMS...guys who aren't good enough to start on offense or defense, Devin Hester being one of them. I don't think I have a problem with him being in the HOF, hell if Joe Namath and Jan Stenerud could make it then I suppose Hester should, but let's not act like what he's this amazing talent doing things on the field that nobody else can do.

 

[wildturkey]

If you let in kickers and punters, then Hester should get in. However, I'd wait awhile to put him in just to see if anybody else looks like they can replicate what he's done (Patrick Peterson maybe?). You want to make sure its his talent and not a set of circumstances (rule changes,etc) that caused all his TDs. It could also be like the above user said and that no one put their best athlete at KR. Now that other teams are, maybe we'll see more return TDs

 

[threelittleturds]

Without a doubt. You can't change the game and then stay out of the Hall of Fame. When you're the type of player that other teams avoid just so you can't beat them, it's time for you to go into the Hall of Fame.

As to the silly argument that other players could have done this if they were allowed to. Deion Sanders was returning punts and kicks all the way up until the last year or two of his lengthy career. If you're thinking Randy Moss could have done this if he was exclusively a KR/PR, you're a fool... at 6'5" he'd easily get tackled and chipped to prevent the returns.

I think Tim Brown might have been the only WR who caught 100 balls who also had a KR and a PR for a TD, and he also returned punts full time for 8 years with only two brought back for TDs (in those 8 years)... so, frankly, I think your argument is idiotic. Not only does it depend solely on a "what if", but there is plenty of evidence of good returners who excelled at other positions and still returned punts or kicks without the same success as Hester.

 

[guitarmy21b]

Without a doubt. You can't change the game and then stay out of the Hall of Fame. When you're the type of player that other teams avoid just so you can't beat them, it's time for you to go into the Hall of Fame.

As to the silly argument that other players could have done this if they were allowed to. Deion Sanders was returning punts and kicks all the way up until the last year or two of his lengthy career. If you're thinking Randy Moss could have done this if he was exclusively a KR/PR, you're a fool... at 6'5" he'd easily get tackled and chipped to prevent the returns.

I think Tim Brown might have been the only WR who caught 100 balls who also had a KR and a PR for a TD, and he also returned punts full time for 8 years with only two brought back for TDs (in those 8 years)... so, frankly, I think your argument is idiotic. Not only does it depend solely on a "what if", but there is plenty of evidence of good returners who excelled at other positions and still returned punts or kicks without the same success as Hester.

All good points no doubt. I don't think the argument is just limited to receivers though. What if someone like a Bo Jackson was returning kicks for several years? How do you explain Hesters success? He's not the fastest, strongest, most agile or elusive player the game has ever seen, nor is he the best combination of these abilities. What makes him so good at returns?

 

[threelittleturds]

Bo Jackson was also too big for that, and his running style was too upright for KR and PR. Watching Terry Kirby return kicks always reminded me of Bo Jackson, not by speed, but by size, upright running style and those extra wide shoulder pads. Now, while Kirby brought a few back because he was fast...his big frame and upright running style made him easy to stop most of the time. I have no doubt Bo could have brought more than few back, but his style of running didn't fit well into what you need at KR/PR.

Obviously Hester is the perfect combination of size, speed, agility, awareness and burst when it comes to KR/PR, he has the TDs to prove it, but it isn't like its all him. The other 10 guys are obviously doing an excellent job of keeping the lanes open and buying Hester the time he needs, but if you take Hester out of that equation... the other 10 guys aren't helping his substitutes get multiple return TDs a season either.

There is no obvious reason for Hester's success. He just has some innate ability to quickly make the right decision on which gap to hit and when to juke, stop, accelerate and make it through a chaotic attack to score TDs. Barry Sanders wasn't the biggest, strongest, fastest, most agile running back in the NFL... but he was strong, was fast, had quick and light feet, and an uncanny ability to quickly make the right decision. You can't explain Barry Sanders' success anymore than you can package Hester's success, some things are just what they are.. and they can't be duplicated or hemmed in to a specific category.

 

[Smart]

All good points no doubt. I don't think the argument is just limited to receivers though. What if someone like a Bo Jackson was returning kicks for several years? How do you explain Hesters success? He's not the fastest, strongest, most agile or elusive player the game has ever seen, nor is he the best combination of these abilities. What makes him so good at returns?

Yes, he is. At least, he is the shiftiest player I have ever seen. I have never seen a player who can cut as smoothly at full speed as Devin Hester. Other players might be more agile or shiftier when accelerating, but at full speed Hester is quite literally untouchable. He can change directions without slowing down, and that is what makes him better than everyone else.

 

[guitarmy21b]

Well, alright. I can admit when I've been presented with a better argument.

 

[beardown07]

Well, alright. I can admit when I've been presented with a better argument.

lol

 

[ugafan6612]

I think so. He still has a lot of time to improve his resume' too

 

[Brasky]

Dude is a fucking beast. Best to ever do it.

 

[DChero]

He's the best in the history of the league at his position. In my opinion, he deserves to be there as much as Marino. Both amazing, but no rings.